Lost Boy
by trickstergrrrl
Summary: When Loki fell from Asgard, he expected death. What he did not expect was to be found by a mysterious immortal alien and his human companion in their strange, flying blue box. Swept up into an adventure full of aliens, monsters, magic, and time travel, Loki finally finds what he had been longing for his entire life: a family that truly accepts him.
1. Lost

Cold nothing attacks him from all sides, invading his lungs, freezing his skin, pressing blackness against his eyes.

Floating….

Floating….

Falling….

Nothing but the emptiness surrounding him. The only weight his heavy heart, painfully stinging in his chest.

"_No, Loki." _

The disappointment. The dismissal.

He was nothing. Absolutely nothing. No more than a bad memory. Something to be shamed, shunned, forgotten.

Loki squeezes his eyes shut and let the cold, unfeeling indifference of space press in on him, begin to crush him. His resilient body resists it longer than most races can, but now, it begins to tear….

Suddenly, gravity grips him. Pulls him.

He begins to plummet.

Light flashes behind his closed eyes. Cosmic energy crushes him, squeezes him, pummels him, presses the breath from his lungs. He is gasping. He can't breathe. He can't think. He can't move. His arms remain pinned to his sides. He is a cork being pressed out of a bottle. He is shard of glass being crushed by the uncaring infinite void, like an iron fist closing around him.

But this is good. The pain is good.

It distracts him. Physical pain leaves little room for him to ruminate on the consistent aching inside of his chest.

And besides, he deserves this.

This horrible, terrible pain.

He almost smiles, if he could. This is the ending he deserves.

This is the ending he wants.

His head is pounding. He wishes he could scream, but the only sound that exists is the rush of space as he is hurled through the cosmos. He briefly wonders how long this will last, and when the final Darkness will take him.

And then, all at once, everything stops.

Loki feels the familiar velvety fingers of unconsciousness begin to close around his mind. He lets himself slip under willingly, his last thoughts being of regret, peace, shame, and a wish, a shapeless longing skirting the edge of his consciousness. But as the intoxicating tides of Nothing drown his thoughts, he forgets what it was he wished for.


	2. Found

_Warm lights. _

_The hum of engines beneath him. _

_Footsteps. _

"_...going to be alright, Doctor?..." _

_Hands grabbing him. _

_Holding him. _

_He tries to move, his body doesn't work. _

_He is paralyzed. _

"_...him to the medical bay…." _

_Moving. _

_More lights. _

_Two voices. _

_Two figures? _

_Pain races through his body like fire. _

_He wants to scream, but all he can summon is a moan of discomfort. _

"_...happened to him?...attack?..." _

_Let me go. _

_Please let me go. _

_Am I still alive? _

_How? _

_Where am I?_

"_...the radar. Keep an eye on him….." _

_A smudge of blue against white. _

_The sound of footsteps receding. _

_The primal sense of someone near him. _

_..._

_Nothing. _

Like ocean tides receding, revealing pale shells abandoned in the muck of the shore, Loki became aware of small things, one sense at a time.

The first thing he was aware of was the pain. Absolute, horrible, aching pain all throughout his body. Every breath he took set his ribs on fire, and his muscles pulsed with every beat of his heart. His head felt as if it had been cleaved in two by an axe and then stuck back together.

As he regained more sense of himself, he felt, aside from the pain, the soft push of sheets and a mattress beneath him, beneath his hands.

So, he was lying in some kind of bed.

Loki swallowed. Thor.

Did they somehow find him? Was he back in Asgard awaiting punishment?

Loki forced his mind to focus on listening, on remembering.

Two people… two people had somehow found him. He remembered… one of their voices was male, but it did not match Thor's, nor anyone else he knew.

The other was a female, again unrecognizable.

But that didn't mean Asgard hadn't found him. Or, if they hadn't, they were more definitely searching for him.

Loki strained his ears and listened.

The gentle _thrum _of engines, the constant erratic _bleeping _of some kind of technology.

The rustle of a page. A gentle sigh.

Someone was near him.

Loki tensed, causing a fresh wave of pain to shoot through him. He grit his teeth and suppressed a moan, forcing his breath to remain calm and even, as though he were still asleep.

Pushing the pain to the back of his mind, Loki instead worked on drawing out his Magic. He wanted to make sure that if he needed to, he could defend himself. Or disguise himself, turn himself Invisible.

Because lying in that bed, his whole body aching, a raw, exposed feeling prevailing outside as well as inside, he just wanted to know he wasn't completely helpless. He wanted that one, small comfort.

He was still Loki, rightful King of Asgard, God of Mischief. He would not just lie there like an invalid. While there was still breath in his chest, he would fight on. That was the last shred of dignity and self respect he possessed.

There! He could feel it; a tendril of warmth and power deep inside of him, like the hidden embers of a dying fire, still glowing brightly though buried beneath ash.

However, it was very weak, no doubt caused by the… trauma that he had endured. Even just touching it took a great amount of effort

Loki released his hold on his Magic, the strain becoming too much for him to bear on top of the already existing pain.

As he released it, a sigh, unbidden, fell from his lips.

Loki heard the person beside him shift and then silence. He felt their eyes on his face and tried to remain still, feigning sleep. After a moment, he heard the rustle of a page turning.

He let another moment pass before risking a peak at his guard.

Dark spots clouded his vision momentarily, and a sudden wave of nausea made him feel dizzy and light-headed, but Loki steeled himself and allowed his vision to focus on the figure sitting at his bedside.

A curtain of dark blue hair fell in soft waves around a pale face. Brow furrowed, shoulders slightly hunched, her hazel eyes flicked back and forth quickly across the pages of the book she held in her lap. She turned another page, continuing to read without breaking concentration.

Loki was about to close his eyes again and feign sleep when her eyes suddenly darted up to meet his.

_Damn. Caught. _

He tensed, ready to draw from that reserve of Magic deep within him to attempt an escape, ignoring the way his body protested every tiny movement.

Her gaze softened and a slow, kind smile pulled up the corners of her mouth.

Loki stared back, guarded.

"Hey, it's okay." She spoke softly, as if to a spooked animal. Loki stared into her eyes, searching for any sign of malice. But all he saw, all he sensed from her, was absolute sincerity.

It caught Loki a little off guard. And endeared him slightly.

"You're okay," she continued in that same calm, soothing voice. She leaned down so that she was eye level with him. "My name is Luna. I'm here to help you. Okay?"

Loki swallowed. His throat felt like sandpaper. A million questions lined up in his mind, but the constant reaching for Magic had drained him of what little energy he had when he awoke, and the tendrils of sleep were tugging at his mind once again.

He licked his lips and managed to croak out, "Where…?" He winced at how weak he sounded. He was a Prince of Asgard for Norns' sake! This was disgraceful, lying in a strange bed, unable to defend himself.

_Was_, a harsh, icy voice reminded him from the blackest depths of his mind. _Was a Prince of Asgard. Now you are…. You are nothing. Oh if only Thor and everyone else could see you now. The mighty King fallen to nothing but a beaten, broken boy. _

But the girl named Luna continued to smile at him warmly, her hazel eyes wide and her face pleasant to look at. Something about her was calming.

"You're on a ship," she told him. "It's called the TARDIS. And we're gonna take care of you, okay? So don't you worry about anything."

_We_. _Who is 'we'? _

But Loki's eyes were drooping now, and the last thing he saw and heard was Luna leaving her seat, and her voice shouting for a doctor.


	3. Awake

**~Luna's POV~**

As soon as the man's eyes closed once more and his breathing returned to the slow, even rhythm of deep sleep, Luna leapt out of her seat and rushed towards the door of the Sick Bay.

It opened automatically with a gentle _whoosh _and a cold gust of air, revealing a dim corridor lit with orange-gold light.

Luna leaned out of the doorway and shouted, "Doctor! Doctor, he woke up!"

She briefly glanced back at their patient to see if her shouting had awoken him as the clattering sound of footfalls heralded the Doctor's arrival.

The Doctor sprinted down the set of metal stairs at the end of the corridor that led to the control room. He barely paused at the door of the Sick Bay before rushing in. Luna stepped aside as he marched forward, taking his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and examining the patient's body, the green light casting a sickening pallor over his many wounds. The swelling of his face had receded slightly since they'd brought him into the medical room, but his bruises stood out starkly against his pale skin, each turning a gruesome purple-blue.

Luna stood beside the Doctor, her hands clasped together under her chin, anxiously awaiting the Doctor to finish his examination.

"Did he say anything?" the Doctor asked her, checking his pulse and lifting his eyelids one at a time.

"He just asked where he was."

"Did he give you his name?"

Luna shook her head. "No. I just told him that he was okay and that we were going to take care of him."

The Doctor paused momentarily to give her an appraising look over his shoulder. "Good bedside manner."

Luna crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, embarrassed from the sudden praise. "Oh shut up," she mumbled.

"He's breathing easier," the Doctor reported. "That's a good sign. Unfortunately there isn't much else we can do until he wakes up. There's no internal bleeding, no broken bones."

"What about his ribs? You said he had a fracture."

"Several, actually, but they seem to already be healing."

Luna shifted her weight from foot to foot, staring at the unconscious man's face. When they first found him, he looked like he had gone toe-to-toe with Mike Tyson wielding a sludge-hammer and lost. Badly.

_Rapid healing factors, _she mused. _Maybe he's not human…. _

She'd already met plenty of beings who looked human at first glance but definitely weren't. But unless the Doctor was hiding something from her, after their initial examination of him they knew he had all of the same anatomy as a human; one heart, lungs, two arms, two legs, one head, etc.

She pulled up the chair she had been sitting in and resumed her position beside the patient's bed, resting her chin in her hand.

"You should get some rest," the Doctor told her. "You've been in here all day."

"Shouldn't someone stay with him though?" she asked. "Until he wakes up. I just don't think it's a good idea to leave someone alone in a strange place when they've been injured this badly. He might be confused, disoriented. He could hurt himself."

"I'll stay with him," the Doctor offered.

Luna narrowed her eyes doubtfully at the Doctor. She was all too familiar with his flighty attention span at this point. Asking him to stay in one place for an extended period of time and not go anywhere was like asking the Moon not to revolve around the Earth.

"What?" he asked, completely oblivious of this particular flaw.

"I'm okay with staying here," she said, picking up her book from where she'd set it on the floor.

The Doctor shrugged, already making his way towards the door. "Suit yourself. Call me if anything happens."

Luna waved him away over her shoulder and heard the rush of compressed air as the med bay door closed, leaving her alone with the patient once more.

She stared at him closely, but he didn't move or give the slightest indication that he might be awake and listening.

_Who are you? _She wondered, curiosity itching her brain. _Where did you come from? What happened to you?_

_They had just arrived from a previous adventure the day before, and Luna had been looking forward to one day- just a single day- of rest and relaxation before the Universe decided to throw another curveball at them. _

_The Doctor was fiddling with the controls of the ship in his shirtsleeves, and Luna had decided to catch up on her reading. _

_She was sitting on the stairs leading up to the control panel, a thick volume open in her lap and a mug of hot chocolate placed beside her, when they heard it. The alarm. _

_It nearly made her jump out of her skin, and she had to be careful not to knock the steaming mug over. The Doctor began to sprint around the control panel, twisting dials and pulling levers, seemingly at random. _

_Luna set her book down and rushed to the Doctor's side as he pulled down the large, overhanging scanner to see what had triggered the alarm. An astral map showing their current location in time and space appeared on the screen. Even though the diagnostics were in Gallifreyan (which Luna had tried to learn but they still all just looked like circles and lines to her), it wasn't hard to figure out which symbol represented the TARDIS. The screen automatically zoomed in on a moving dot that was slowly drifting closer to them. _

"_Space debris," the Doctor reported, and for a moment the anxiety that had seized Luna at the sudden alarm lessened a bit. But something in the Doctor's tone didn't make her relax completely. There was a hidden tenseness in his voice that made Luna look closer at the debris floating towards them on the screen._

_The Doctor zoomed in on the piece of space garbage until it took on a more solid shape instead of just a dot on a map. _

_Luna's eyes widened, her heart hammering in her chest and her mouth falling open slightly in horror. _

_It was a body. _

_Without a word the Doctor rushed towards the front doors, Luna close at his heels. They flung the doors open, revealing an expanse of endless space. A shadowy shape moved across the stars towards them, the TARDIS's gravitational field pulling it closer._

_Luna pressed her lips together and suppressed a shiver of mortification at the thought of catching and handling a dead body. _

_Not that this was her first time, but she never got used to it. _

_As soon as the body was within reached she and the Doctor each grabbed one of its arms and guided it gently into the TARDIS. It dropped to the floor heavily, no longer held aloft by anti-gravity. _

_Luna couldn't stop staring at the devastating sight lying between them. Its face resembled something of an overripe tomato, red and swollen, one eye completely swollen shut. Blood flowed from various gashes across their face, matting their black hair. The bruising continued down their neck and disappeared into the collar of their clothing (Luna noted how ornamental it looked, despite how tattered it was). Their hands were also covered in bruises and cuts. _

_Luna's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes watering. Whoever this person was, they must have gone through something terrible. An explosion? But they hadn't seen any other space debris that could indicate a ship had crashed or exploded in their vicinity. _

_They must have been floating for a while. It was a miracle that they'd found them at all. _

_The Doctor had his sonic out and was examining the body. Luna, too, was taking in as much as she could. The sight and smell of the blood and horrible wounds made her want to run and hide, but she felt she had to stay there, by their side, out of respect. _

_Whoever this person was, they deserved a proper burial, not to just be flung out into the universe as space junk. _

_She was so caught up in her own thoughts, she didn't catch what the Doctor had reported as he finished examining the body. _

_Luna blinked and finally tore her eyes away from the corpse between them. _

"_What?" _

_The Doctor stared at her, his eyes wide. "He's alive." _

_After that, it was all a blur of carrying him between them to the Sick Bay, the Doctor doing his best to lessen the bruising and stop the bleeding. _

_According to the Doctor, he had several fractured ribs, as well as fractures in his arms, and possibly a concussion. _

_But the fact that he was alive at all was a complete, absolute miracle. Luna almost laughed out in relief when the Doctor said he was stable, for the moment. _

_How could someone survive being out in space for so long in that state, without any oxygen? What had happened to him? Had he been in an attack? Where was his ship? His homeworld? _

_The Doctor said they wouldn't be able to help him any more until he woke up ("if" he wakes up, Luna heard the Doctor mutter). _

_Luna swore she'd stay by his side, watching him carefully to make sure he didn't get any worse. _

_And even if he did, even if, despite their best efforts, he slipped away, Luna didn't believe anyone deserved to die alone. _

**~Loki's POV~**

The tides receded once again.

The pain was still intense, but bearable. He could breathe without feeling as though he were about to pass out, and when he tried to move, though his muscles screamed in protest, he found that he could.

He opened his eyes and winced at the blinding white light around him.

_Slowly_, he told himself. _Breathe. _

Fighting against the nausea and dizziness that assaulted him, Loki managed to lift his head a few inches.

He was alone.

He wasn't sure if he was more relieved or frightened by that fact.

Carefully, Loki propped himself onto his elbows. He had to stop moving every few seconds to take a deep breath (his ribs twinged with sharp pain every time he did) and suppress the swell of nausea that threatened to overtake him.

Lethargically, he glanced around the room, taking in one small fact at a time.

Between the pristine white environment, the orderly array of medical supplies behind glass cabinets, and the soft white bedding he was lying in, Loki didn't have to think hard to assume he was in some sort of healing room.

He was able to catch a glimpse of himself in the glass of one of the cabinets, and the sight made him feel light-headed, his heart hammering in his chest. Half of his face was covered in clean white bandages, the other half covered in sickening bruises. Loki also noticed something strange.

He looked down and tried to suppress the panic that seized him.

His armor was gone.

Instead he had been clothed in a soft striped tunic that buttoned down the front and was a tad too small on him, the sleeves ending over an inch above his wrists. He also noticed his hands had been covered in bandages as well, and in the bright white light of the room his pale skin stood out even more, the blue veins running down his arms sticking out starkly against his flesh.

His legs had been covered with warm blankets, but it was safe to assume he was wearing trousers that matched his top. He tried to move them, and despite the pain that shot up his legs and traveled up his spine, he was relieved to find that he could.

Loki lowered himself back down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling and trying to calm his racing heart and focus.

_Think_, he told himself. It was the only thing he was good at. He had been stripped of his armor, his Magic was weak, he was without any of his weapons, and he was on a strange ship and at the mercy at whoever was piloting it.

He closed his eyes, but when he did, the memories of what had happened on the Bifrost swam unbidden to the forefront of his thoughts.

_Odin, staring down at him. _

'_Please. All I wanted was to make you proud.' _

"_No, Loki." _

Loki opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Why was he still alive? Was the Universe that cruel? That it meant for him to live and continue his suffering? Why hadn't it offered him that final boon, and just let him die?

Loki's hands curled into fists at his sides and that harsh, cold voice swam up from the depths of his mind.

_Don't be so pathetic! _It hissed at him. _No wonder Odin was never proud of you! No wonder you were never fit to sit on the throne of Asgard! Aside from being a monster, you're weak! _

"Oh!"

Loki's eyes snapped open and he turned his head, ignoring the way his spine twinged.

The girl with the blue hair (what had been her name?) stood in the doorway, holding a mug of something steaming in her hands. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide with shock.

Loki swallowed, remembering her kind smile and kind words.

"_Don't worry, we're going to take care of you." _

But who would selflessly take in a broken, abandoned stranger? Loki narrowed his eyes. No. He had to keep his guard up.

She quickly walked forward and set the mug down on the floor before occupying the abandoned chair beside Loki's bed. He quickly took in her clothing, searching for any hidden weapons. Trousers, some sort of soft, oversized sweater, boots. She wasn't dressed in any sort of identifying uniform or wore any particular symbol on her clothing. Everything about her screamed "civilian".

"I'm sorry," she said, "I just stepped out for a second to get some tea." She sat on the edge of her chair, staring at Loki with an open, eager, and slightly anxious expression. "How are you feeling? I mean, I'm sorry, stupid question, you probably feel like Hell. But like, relatively, are you okay?"

She offered him a small smile.

Loki couldn't help but feel the urge to smile back. Nothing about her seemed dangerous, but that could be misleading.

"I'm… alright," he croaked out, and suddenly became aware of how dry and parched his throat was. How long had he been unconscious?

The girl nodded. "Okay. Good! I'm glad. Ummm…. Just one moment."

She stood up and quickly crossed the room to the doors, which opened automatically at her approach. She leaned out of the corridor, and Loki once again heard her call for a 'doctor'.

_Doctor. Isn't that what Midgardians call their healers? _

So, she was a Midgardian then. But in his weakened state, even Midgardians might pose a threat.

_Might_.

She walked back to him, still smiling, and sat down once again, holding her mug of tea in her hands.

"The Doctor will be here in a second," she said. She continued to stare at him with wide eyes, seemingly at a loss for something to say.

Finally she stated, "You gave us a scare. We thought you were dead. You can't imagine how relieved we were that you weren't."

_You can't imagine how much I wish I was. _

Loki winced and silently cursed at himself.

_Enough with the self-pity! _

"Hmm." Casting around for something to say, just to break the awkward silence stretching between them, Loki indicated the bandages on his hands and arms. "Are you the one who did this?"

The girl shook her head. "Oh no. Well, sort of. I helped. The Doctor did-"

She cut herself off as the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the doors. A tall, lanky man with unruly brown hair and wearing the strangest clothes Loki had ever seen appeared in the doorway.

He grinned when he spotted Loki and crossed in the room in long, quick strides.

"Ah! Good, you're finally awake! I'm the Doctor, this is Luna, you've already met. Now, let me just-"

With quick, erratic movements he produced some sort of elongated metal object from the pocket of his jacket and leaned over Loki.

Loki tensed as the man- the 'Doctor'- pointed the object towards his face. Was it some kind of weapon? A device to knock him unconscious again? Even in his weakened state, Loki would fight until his last breath.

He had just begun to draw on his weakened Magic, still dormant deep inside of him, when the tip glowed green and a high-pitched buzzing sound pierced his skull like a spike.

Instinctively he reached up and pushed the Doctor's hand away, breaking the ear-piercing noise.

"Now now!" the Doctor chided. "Enough of that! I'm just trying to check if you have a concussion."

Loki's eyes darted over to where Luna, the girl, sat. She watched him carefully, glancing between him and the Doctor. When she saw him looking at her, she gave an encouraging nod.

Reluctantly, Loki lied back down.

"I don't have a concussion," he stated firmly, glaring at the Doctor, who slipped the strange device back into his jacket with a disgruntled frown.

"Now, how do you know that?" Ignoring Loki's previous attempt at keeping him at arm's length, he reached down and began checking Loki's eyes, careful of the bandages across his face. Loki's hands clenched at his sides. He hated being poked and prodded like a carcass. This was one of the reasons he learned basic healing magic growing up (in secret of course, he suffered enough mockery at his brother's and friends' expense), he hated being subjected to the healers' fussing every time they returned from battle.

But before Loki could lose what little patience he had, the Doctor pulled away with a hum.

"Well, your pupils aren't dilated. Any nausea? Is the room spinning?"

"No," Loki lied.

"Well then, that's good, though you should probably stay in bed for at least another day, just to make sure. Doctor's orders." The man shot him a crooked grin, speaking animatedly with his hands flapping about.

"I am fine," Loki growled. He moved to get up, ignoring how his body silently protested. He couldn't let them see how truly weak he felt. If they knew how at their mercy he was, he couldn't count on them remaining this hospitable. They were probably just trying to get his guard down.

_If they know who I am, _he reasoned. _But they haven't given any indication that they do. _

How far were they from Asgard? Did the events of what happened on the Bifrost and in Jotunheim spread to the other Nine Realms?

How far would he have to run to stay hidden?

Loki's heart began to beat wildly in his chest again.

_Without my Magic to cloak myself, Heimdall will know exactly where I am, and no doubt he will alert Thor and Odin._

Which meant he only had until the Bifrost was repaired to run as far and as fast as possible.

Luna said they were on some kind of ship. Hopefully it was heading _away _from Asgard.

Loki swung his aching legs over the side of the bed, but as soon as he tried to stand, the whole world went sideways. He barely had time to clutch the side of the bed as his legs buckled beneath him.

Two sets of hands carefully helped him back onto the bed. Loki clenched his jaw. He had never been this weak or helpless before, and he once again found himself questioning whether it would have been better if he had just remained lost.

"Are you alright?" Luna's soft voice cut through his dark thoughts.

"I'm _fine_," he snapped, and immediately felt regret at his harsh words. He closed his eyes and forced himself to take another deep breath.

_These people have shown me nothing but kindness and here I am, behaving like an absolute…. Well, like Thor. _

He looked up at them and forced himself to relax, suppressing the humiliation that was eating away at him. Luna's previous open and kind face was now guarded, though Loki could still see the hurt hidden in her eyes. The Doctor stood to the side silently. Loki tried to suss out what he might be thinking, but the Doctor's face betrayed little emotion.

"I'm sorry," he told them. "I… perhaps more rest will do me good."

Slowly Luna's face relaxed back to that open expression and she once more gave him a small smile. Loki's heart twinged. Despite his rude behavior she seemed to forgive him so easily.

"Well then, we'll leave you to it," she said, picking up her book and mug. "Are you hungry? You're probably hungry. I'll bring you some food." And before he could say another word she spun on her heel and hurried out of the room.

It wasn't until she mentioned it that Loki realized just how hungry he was. At the word "food" his stomach gave an audible, greedy growl. He swallowed and tried to ignore it.

"Thank you." He nodded at the Doctor, who had remained by his bed. "Truly. Thank you both."

The Doctor's stony face relaxed into a pleasant, crooked smile.

"Welcome to the TARDIS…. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

Loki looked down, thinking quickly.

If he gave him his real name he might recognize it. Loki quickly cast around in his memory for a different name. Something believable.

"Stian," he finally said, looking up at the Doctor. He tried to make his expression as earnest as possible. "My name is Stian." It had been the name of one of the guards back at the palace.

The Doctor nodded. "Well then, Stian. Hope to see you up and about soon."

Spinning quickly on his heel, the Doctor marched out of the room, leaving Loki alone.

Loki laid back down and closed his eyes. The sudden interaction with his saviors had made him unexpectedly tired, and he found sleep quickly tugging at his consciousness.

Though he was loath to admit it to himself, whoever these complete strangers were, they were his best chance at escaping the fate that awaited him once Thor and Odin caught up to him.

_If _they catch up to him. One thing Loki could always count on was his ability to slip out of danger at the last moment, like a snake through water.

Though before the endless stream of questions about his future could plague him (_Where will he go? What will he do now? What will his life be like on the run? Will he ever be able to return him? Did he even have a home anymore?) _merciful sleep came over him once again.


	4. Getting Settled

**_A/N: _**Hi... Sooooo... Yeah there's really no excuse for this. I'm sorry this took so long, this just kind of happened all at once.

Bad case of depression + writer's block and then I had some shit go down in my personal life I had to deal with and I was just super busy these past few weekends... I'm honestly surprised I got this chapter written at all.  
Special thanks to my friend LionessRinoaVIII on Ao3 and Wannabel on Reddit for the help fighting writer's block.

Twenty minutes later, Luna returned to the Sick Bay carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of tomato soup, a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches, and a cup of fresh water. She didn't know what Stian liked, but she knew how to make tomato soup and grilled cheese, so that's what she made.

The doors opened automatically as she approached, allowing her to hear the gentle snores coming from within. She smiled at the sight of their new guest fast asleep in his medical bed.

Stepping carefully so as not to wake him, Luna set the tray down on the chair beside his bed and quickly left. After the conversation she and the Doctor had with him, she wasn't too worried anymore about him slipping away in his sleep. She'd back back to check on him later.

Making her way back to the control room, she found the Doctor at his usual spot beside the console, carefully examining something on the overhead monitor.

"He's asleep again," she announced, tromping down the stairs to join him. She leaned against the railing on her elbows and stretched her legs out.

She noticed the Doctor had _that look_ on his face; like he was trying to solve a frustrating puzzle.

When he neither answered, or even acknowledged her, his eyes remaining locked on the screen, Luna looked over his shoulder to see what he was glaring at. The monitor displayed an empty starscape, devoid of anything but distant pinpricks of light. They really were in a desolate part of the Universe. The sides of the monitor were crowded with Gallifreyan text and numbers that Luna couldn't make sense of, but guessed they were diagnostics of some kind.

"Luna, take a look at this," the Doctor said. She pushed herself off the railing and stepped up beside him.

"Yeah?"

"This is the area of Space we're currently in."

Luna nodded. "Yeah."

"What do you see?"

"Nothing," she answered with a shrug.

"Exactly! No ship, no space station, there's absolutely nothing! The nearest planets and space stations are thousands of light years away!"

Luna nodded slowly. "So-"

"-where did our mysterious passenger come from? Exactly! Now, watch this."

He quickly typed something into the controls, and the tiny pinpricks of light began to swirl quickly across the screen, as if being rewound on a tape.

For a moment nothing happened. Luna was about to ask the Doctor what she was supposed to be seeing, when there was a sudden blinding white flash on the screen.

"What was that?" Luna asked.

"I rewatched the security footage from outside the TARDIS, from the moment that Stian was detected by our sensors. I retraced the general path he must have been drifting, and then ran a diagnostics scan of the area. Nothing came up, so I did a little temporal rewinding and voila!" He tapped the screen as the white blast repeated on the security footage.

Luna waited for him to continue explaining. When he didn't, she prompted, "...Sooo?"

The Doctor gave her an exaggerated look, as if he couldn't believe someone could be so slow. "_So_, that is how Stian got here!"

"That blast? What was it, an explosion?"

"No! _That _was a Spacial Rift."

Luna's mouth fell open as the pieces finally clicked into place.

"_Ohhh, _so Stian fell through that rift and ended up running into us." _Very literally_.

"Exactly!"

"But, where did he fall through? I mean if it's a rift, then he could have been anywhere in the Universe."

"Not sure. Unfortunately, after these things close they're a bit harder to track, but with some time and finagling I should be able to trace the rift's energy path back to its origin."

The Doctor immediately began to jump around the panel, Luna following closely behind him.

"So, what are we going to do about Stian then?"

"Well, he can stay with us until we get him sorted. Once he wakes up again, and is in a better shape, he can tell us where he's from. So even if I can't track the rift's energy, one quick address from him and we'll send him right back home."

Luna nodded. She didn't feel so good about dumping him off while he was still recovering, but she consoled herself by reasoning he could get better medical help back home.

"If he's feeling better, why don't you move him into one of the guest bedrooms?" the Doctor suggested. "And show him the Wardrobe, I'd like my pajamas back at some point!"

Luna could tell the Doctor was becoming engrossed in his work tracing the rift, so she left to check on Stian.

Walking briskly back to the Sick Bay, she was delighted to find him awake. He was holding the bowl of soup in his lap and slowly sipping spoonfuls of it. She didn't miss the way his hands shook or the general miserable demeanor hanging over him, but at least he was eating.

"Hey," she called, entering the room. Stian turned his face towards her, and Luna tried not to visibly wince at the still fresh bruises across his otherwise handsome face. His black hair was still matted and his skin was pale beneath the bandages, but his eyes were bright and she noticed with amusement that when he saw her, he tried to straighten his posture, before pressing a hand to his ribs and failing to suppress a wince.

"Hello." He set the bowl aside. Luna noticed with approval that he had already drank the water and ate the plate of grilled cheese. Good. Appetite was a good sign. "Thank you for the food."

Luna shrugged. "No problem. I have some good news!"

Stian silently waited for her to continue, his expression guarded, reminding Luna of a tightly shut steel door.

She pressed on with a smile. "So, the Doctor said that if you're feeling better, and if you want to, you can move out of this place and into an actual guest bedroom."

Stian's demeanor visibly relaxed and he nodded. "I would prefer that, yes."

"Cool! And, um…." She hesitated, unsure of how to go about explaining his misfortune of falling through a Spacial Rift. Did he know he had fallen through one? Did he even know what a Spacial Rift was? Twisting her fingers together, she slowly began to speak. "So, ummm… we kind of…." She pressed her lips together before fixing Stian with a careful, sympathetic look. "Do you… know what happened to you? Do you remember, I mean?"

Stian stared at her for a moment, the only change in his expression a slight widening of his eyes. Luna wished she was better at reading facial expressions. He looked down at his hands, clenched tightly in his lap.

"I…. No," he finally muttered, his voice strained slightly. "No, I do not remember."

Something in the back of Luna's mind shifted uncomfortably. Some dark, intuitive part that didn't sit right with his words. But she couldn't detect any obvious lie. She looked carefully at his face, searching for any kind of hint of what he might be feeling, thinking… hiding.

_Even if he does remember and he's choosing not to say, that's his business, _she finally reasoned. So long as he didn't try anything with her or the Doctor, she really didn't care about his past.

So, Luna shrugged, as if nothing was wrong. "Well, the Doctor was able to figure out that you fell through a rift in space," she told him. "Do you know what that is?"

Stian gave her a look she was used to seeing from the Doctor. '_Obviously_', it sneered. She simply shrugged again and put up her hands defensively. "Just asking. So, you fell through a rift, and you ended up here." She gave him a small smile. "It's a good thing we happened to be in the neighborhood."

Stian stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, before a tired smile pulled up the corners of his mouth. He had a nice smile. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"Well, the Doctor and I can drop you off wherever." She waved a hand dismissively. "Just name the place and we can take you there."

Stian immediately fell silent, his smile fading.

"But for now," Luna quickly said, "let's just get you into some proper clothes and a guest bedroom."

He nodded and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Luna gave him some room but still lingered nearby, ready to catch him should he fall again. However, this time Stian stood without much difficulty. He swayed a little on his feet, but quickly recovered and motioned for Luna to lead on.

She kept her pace slow, watching him carefully out of the corner of her eye. His gait was stiff, but he didn't seem like he was going to suddenly collapse. Luna led the way down the corridor outside, knowing she didn't really have to pay attention to where she was going, she just had to focus on finding the guest bedrooms and the TARDIS would eventually lead her there.

"How many people are on this ship?" Stian eventually asked.

"Oh just… the Doctor and me," she answered, uncertain of how much information she should reveal. "But we get guests and pick up stragglers all of the time. Not that you're a straggler of course! You're our guest."

_Awesome, please insult the person you just saved. _

"You two operate this whole ship on your own?" Stian asked, incredulous.

"The Doctor does more than me. I'm more like… his assistant."

She hated the word "Companion". It made her sound like a pet.

Stian nodded carefully. He didn't really say much, Luna noticed. She realized with a start that for once _she _was the one who was doing most of the talking. Usually it was someone else, herself silently observing, off to the side. Out of the way.

It was nice, but weird. Was she being annoying?

Suddenly self-conscious, Luna fell silent.

"How large is this place?" Stian asked after several moments of walking in silence.

"Fairly large. But don't worry, we're almost there." She gave him a reassuring smile. Sure enough, after a few more twists and turns through corridors, they stopped outside of a plain hexagonal door set into the wall.

As Luna approached, the door opened automatically before her. Inside was one of the generic "factory setting" (as the Doctor called it) guest bedrooms: plain white walls, a carpeted floor, a single bed against one wall, the other two walls taken up by a plain desk and a dresser.

Luna stepped back so Stian could enter and examine his new quarters.

"It's a bit plain," she admitted. "But at least it's your own room, not just the Sick Bay. And you can change anything you want, just tell the Doctor so he can reconstruct it."

Luna suddenly remembered the Doctor's _other _request and said, "Oh, and the Doctor said you might want a change of actual clothes, so if you want I can show you to the Wardrobe."

Stian looked down, as if realizing for the first time what he was wearing.

"Where are my clothes?" he asked.

Luna began to twist her fingers around each other. "Well, yeah, about that…." How could she tell him? She should just come right out and say it, as plainly and gently as possible. Right? "The Doctor… he kind of had to get rid of them? They were all torn up after being sent through the rift, and he had to get them off of you to check your injuries and everything. So he kind of…." She looked up at him nervously. After all, _she'd _be pissed if someone threw her clothes out. But maybe he'd understand, given the circumstances.

But once again, his face was a mask betraying no emotions.

"I suppose it couldn't be helped," he finally sighed. Luna felt her whole body relax.

"Come on, you can pick out anything you like from the Wardrobe."

Loki followed the young girl back out into the endless corridor, attempting to push down the sudden pain in his chest.

His armor, disposed of like trash.

_Like him. _

He almost smiled sardonically at the sick irony.

As they walked, every step caused a fresh spike of pain to arch through his body. Loki tried to distract himself from the pain coursing through him by attempting to mentally map out the ship from the corridors Luna led him through. However, the more corridors, passages, and doors that they passed, the less the layout of the ship made any kind of sense, and he wondered how either she or the Doctor managed to find their way through the seemingly endless, labyrinthine passages.

They didn't pass by any windows or observational decks that could give Loki some hint of what the ship looked like from the outside. It was nothing but hallways and doors, everything seeming to be built in the same hexagonal or circular shapes.

Luna chatted away at him about nothing he found interesting or important. Her voice merely joined the endless droning of the ship's internal rhythms. His head pounded, the cup of water not nearly enough to fend off the headache that had plagued him since he awoke.

His muscles ached, his hands shook. He'd never felt this weak in his life, and without his armor he felt even more vulnerable. He just wanted to lie back down and go to sleep, and never wake up.

He didn't know how the Doctor could stand to have such a talkative "assistant". Then again, from the brief interaction he had with the man himself, the Doctor seemed quite… unusual.

No. Eccentric was more fitting.

Loki's frayed nerves were beginning to snap, and he was about to tell Luna that a servant (for that's what she truly was, Loki could tell) shouldn't be as engaging with company, and instead follow the orders given to them, when they suddenly turned a corner and passed through a small doorway.

"Here we are!" she announced, stepping back and waving Loki through.

The sight that opened before Loki made him freeze on the landing. An expansive, cavernous room filled with an endless display of clothing. A brass spiral staircase led to upper and lower floors that continued onward as far as Loki could see, each one, he assumed, full of clothing.

Loki blinked, attempting to rationalize this. This gave some hint to the ship's size, but even then, it must be enormous! And why did the Doctor need to have so much clothing if there was only himself and his servant on board?

The girl did say that they had guests occasionally, but surely that did not account for this impressive collection of clothing. Loki's surprise and bewilderment must have shown on his face for a moment, because Luna's voice suddenly appeared at his side. "I know right? Come on, let's find you something that fits."

She marched forward, leading him towards a seemingly random section nearby. Not only were there articles of clothing such as shirts and trousers, but also hats, shoes, and quite frankly some of the most ridiculous accoutrements and accessories Loki had ever seen.

He definitely spotted a long, multicolored scarf that must have stretched over ten feet, and a dreadfully colorful jacket nearby.

_What kind of people have I fallen into the hands of? _

Luna caught him eyeing the scarf and jacket wearily and let out a short laugh.

"Don't worry, even the Doctor is embarrassed about his old fashion senses. Not that his new one is anything to admire, but…."

Luna began to collect an armful of clothing, picking items off the racks and holding them up to Loki to check sizes. Nothing she chose particularly caught his interest. Everything here seemed to be of similar fashion to what they wore on Midgard. He doubted that anything in this collection could match the standards or quality he was used to.

He looked down at his hands when Luna had her back turned, and frowned. If his Magic would just recover he could change his clothing easily, but as of that moment he was forced to dress as, well… like a Midgardian.

"See anything you like?" Luna suddenly asked him. Loki snapped himself out of his thoughts and chose something at random that looked at the very least comfortable, if not simple and plain.

Luna grinned at his choice. "Perfect! Come on, I'll show you the dressing room."

The 'dressing room' was a tiny stall that only granted privacy behind a heavy curtain. A full-length mirror was set up so whoever was changing could examine themselves fully.

It was the first time Loki was able to examine the extent of damage his body had taken during the fall. He managed to unbutton the pajama top with some difficulty, as his hands wouldn't stop shaking. He grimaced at the reflection before him. Dark, mottled bruises covered nearly every inch of his torso. His ribs were slightly swollen, and the few places where the cuts and rips and tears and gashes had been so severe, stark white bandages had been placed.

He hadn't taken a beating like this in years. He couldn't imagine what might have happened to his body on the astral winds if his armor and natural fortitude hadn't saved him.

Loki brushed his fingers against his blue-and-purple torso. He was weak, injured, and his Magic was lying dormant under his current physical state. If he had to fight or run….

He glanced out of a small space between the curtain to where Luna was idly looking through clothes.

These people didn't know who he was. They only knew that he fell through a rift in space. They were kind, hospitable, and so eager to help him.

If he could just lay low for a bit longer, just until his Magic returned….

"How's it going in there, Stian?"

Loki snapped himself out of his thoughts and began pulling on a shirt and trousers. "I'm fine. Just a moment."

The button-up shirt he had chosen was at least easier to change into compared to his armor. However the light-weight material left something to be desired in the way of protection.

The pants were a bit better, the material heavier, more rough, but still not what he was used to.

Loki sighed. _I suppose I will just have to grow used to this. _

What he needed... was time. He needed time and peace to plan.

After changing and rolling the pajamas into a ball, Loki exited the changing room. Luna looked over and smiled appraisingly at him.

"Nice! That looks good on you."

At least they had his preferred colors. He had chosen a dark green shirt and black trousers Luna referred to as "jeans". She took the pajamas from him and together they managed to find a pair of socks and shoes that fit. Sturdy black boots that made Loki feel less vulnerable and more able to defend himself.

"Feel free to come back here if you want a change of clothes or something," Luna told him as they left.

"I'm not sure how I'll find my way back," Loki responded, only half joking. But Luna waved a dismissive hand.

"Oh don't worry, the TARDIS will take you to where you need to go." She tilted her head back and smiled at… was she smiling at the ship?

"The… _ship _will take me where I need to go?" Loki asked, arching an inquisitive brow at her. Luna shot him a sly, knowing smile and continued on down the corridor.

Loki stared after her for a moment before following. "_Right._"

He followed her back to his new room, too tired to process any of this and just wanting some time alone.

"I'll let you rest," Luna said, lingering in the doorway. "If you need anything, just come find me or the Doctor."

Without explaining _how _or _where _he could find them, she disappeared back down the corridor, his door closing behind her.

One look at his mattress and Loki nearly collapsed where he stood. However, he somehow managed to make it to the actual bed, and fall face-first on top of the sheets, waves of exhaustion pulling him down into the depths of deep slumber.

His final thought before falling asleep was, _What kind of a life had he fallen into?_

**_A/N:_ **A few quick things:

I don't know when I'm gonna be able to get to the next chapter. Aside from my life just becoming super busy all of a sudden, I'm also starting two different D&D campaigns, one as a player and one as a DM.  
Honestly if you guys like this story you all should read "Time And Relative Mischief In Space" by Taranea on Ao3. They write a thousand times better than I do and their story is actually fully complete!  
Oh, and I have a Twitter account now where I'll post updates about stories I'm writing or working on, and maybe some tidbits from my D&D campaigns. Also where you can yell at me for chapter updates.  
Follow me: trickstergrrrl  
As per usual, critiques and comments are desperately desired so feel free to write anything you want. Thank you for reading and being patient with my executive dysfunctional ass!  
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go reward myself with cheesecake.


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